WESTERLY – Washington Trust Bancorp Inc., parent of The Washington Trust Co., posted record earnings of $35.1 million for 2012, an 18 percent increase in net income compared with $29.7 million in 2011, according to the earnings report released by the company Wednesday after the market close.

Diluted earnings per share were $2.13 in 2012, an increase of 17 percent over $1.83 per diluted share in 2011.

“Virtually every line of business performed better in 2012 than in 2011,” Washington Trust Chairman, President and CEO Joseph J. MarcAurele said in a telephone interview with Providence Business News.

The company’s total interest and non-interest revenue of $186.3 million in 2012 represented a 7 percent increase over the corresponding 2011 total.

While interest income declined on the year by little more than one-tenth of a percent, non-interest income increased 23.6 percent to $65.2 million.

One of the major contributors to Washington Trust’s growth in fee income was the expansion of residential mortgage origination and sale of the mortgages on the secondary market, MarcAurele said.

“Wealth management fees grew very well over the year” as well, MarcAurele said, with overall wealth management income rising 4.7 percent to $29.6 million.

The company’s net interest margin climbed to 3.29 percent in 2012 from 3.20 percent in 2011.

In fourth-quarter results, Washington Trust’s net income climbed to $9 million, a rise of 16 percent from $7.8 million in the same quarter in 2011.

Fourth-quarter earnings were 55 cents per diluted share, compared with 47 cents per diluted share in the fourth-quarter of 2011.

Growth in residential mortgages was a highlight of Washington Trust’s strong performance in the fourth-quarter of the year as well, with residential mortgage origination volume and mortgage banking revenue reaching an all-time quarterly high at $4.5 million for the three-month period, a 28 percent month-to-month increase.

Return on average equity and average assets for the quarter were 12.01 percent and 1.19 percent, respectively, compared with 12.02 percent and 1.17 percent, respectively, for the third-quarter of 2012.

“Washington Trust had another exceptional performance in 2012, highlighted by record earnings and growth along key business lines,” MarcAurele said in a company press release. “We have continued to manage our way through these challenging economic times by successfully expanding our market reach, attracting new client relationships and continuing to make a difference in the communities in which we live and work.”

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